Page 39 - Summer 2014

Figure 5. Seasonal Opportunities for Revenue Growth Looking forward over the next three years and thinking about summer and winter tourism revenues, which season do you believe respondents thought summer would offers your destination the best opportunity for revenue growth? be the greater opportunity, one-quar- ter thought winter, and half indicated that the two seasons represented equal opportunities for growth (figure 5). These communities generally agreed that they have a widely held commitment to growing summer tour- ism, and that they offer a wide range of recreation facilities/opportunities, cul- $ ! # ! # ! $ tural offerings, and special events for & # ! % ! ! !#$ # " summer visitors (figure 6). However, the survey results showed that many communities struggle with metrics to measure and evaluate summer tourism, and that they do not have adequate area. However, the breadth of poten- success, and what works at one ski funding for marketing and promotion tial summer offerings and the varying area might not perform at another. of summer tourism. level of financial return strongly indi- Factors such as distance to the mar- cates that ski areas need to study care- ket, level of saturation, demographics Conclusion fully what will have the greatest chance of the potential visitor, and the level Overall, the results from the three dis- for success at their mountain. of marketing funding are all pieces tinct research projects show some com- Each different mountain will that need to fit together to solve the mon themes: have a unique recipe for summer summer puzzle. N s Most of the activities that ski areas offer in the summer leverage exist- ing assets rather than invest in new infrastructure. Figure 6. Level of Agreement about Summer Tourism s Some activities and attractions in Your Community that ski areas currently offer in summer perform well financially, and others do not. Percent Percent Agree Disagree s Ski areas and their nearby com- munities have lots to offer sum- We have a strong commitment to growing summer 78% 10% tourism revenue mer visitors, but awareness among potential visitors is low. Our community has adequate funding for marketing/ 29% 48% s Town and ski area partnerships promotion of summer tourism could be improved to influence We have a strong lineup of special events in summer 68% 10% greater levels of summer visits. s Having appropriate metrics to We have a wide range of available recreation facilities/ 80% 7% opportunities that support summer tourism measure and plan for summer tourism could be improved. We have a compelling mix of arts and cultural 63% 20% offerings for summer visitors The increasing level of visits and We have the right data and metrics to measure and share of revenue that summer busi- plan for summer tourism 37% 44% ness currently represents is a posi- tive sign for continued growth in this SUMMER 2014 | NSAA Journal | 37 w w w.nsaa. org NSAA Summer 2014 prepressed v6a.indd 37 7/3/14 4:20 PM